Why laws on independent directors need to be tailored to suit Indian conditions
The CII Guidelines on independent directors fail to deal with two elephants in the room, as they are modelled on western principles
Stockology: Avoid contrarian ideas & remain a good trend follower in markets this week
The current phase of the market is like a slow poison, it will keep sucking the earned profits from the investor’s existing portfolio
Bharat Ratna: Honour for champions of economic reforms and farmers but Modi's political message is clear
Bharat Ratna to PV Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh and MS Swaminathan connects with Indians at multiple levels. Rao is a darling of the middle classes, is adored in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and was out of sync with a Sonia Gandhi-obsessed Congress. Charan Singh was among the first farmer leaders and struck crucial blows to the Congress edifice. Without Swaminathan, India’s achievements in agricultural self-sufficiency are unimaginable
The four tenets of investing – the philosophy, the art, the craft and the graft
An investor needs all four of these in various degrees to emerge as a worthy contender in the market. In the absence of these concepts, one may be weighed and measured and still found wanting
Wall Street job cuts show the future has finally arrived
In January, Citigroup announced plans to eliminate 20,000 positions from its global workforce of around 200,000. This month, Deutsche Bank revealed plans to cut 3,500 jobs to reduce costs by $2.7 billion by 2025. Machine learning is now poised to take down many more jobs
Germany makes a risky bet on Hydrogen energy
Hydrogen is expensive and the cost of building, and then later upgrading, power plants to burn a fuel which isn’t yet widely available is also high. Hydrogen’s potential has been downgraded in recent years after being initially touted as the fuel of the future, powering planes, trains and automobiles and heating homes
End of Free Movement Regime: GoI loses a crucial element in its Act East policy
There was considerable pressure from the Manipur government to scrap the FMR. The task of fencing the 1,643 km India-Myanmar border with its hilly, forested terrain could be as difficult as the still unfinished India-Bangladesh border fencing
China to export deflation to the world as economy stumbles
Prices of products shipped overseas have been falling at the fastest rate since 2008 crisis
Pakistan Elections: Will the delay in counting pave the way for Army’s favourites?
Imran Khan’s PTI-backed Independents have done much better than expected. Could that explain the delay in results? Is General Asim Munir setting the stage for a PML(N)-PPP coalition to take office? At this stage there are more questions than answers coming from Pakistan
The Grammys aside, music is still a man’s world
Women made up only 34.8% of the 164 artists who appeared in Billboard’s Hot 100 year-end chart for 2023. This is an increase from 30.2% in 2022. But of the 441 songwriters credited on that list, only 19.5% were women. And of 217 producers, the proportion of women is smaller still: 6.5%
The Taylor Swift and Messi Moment shows Tokyo is back
Swift performing and Messi playing at the same time in Tokyo caused some envy in Hong Kong, which Swift skipped and Messi, infamously, sat out. It is nonetheless symbolic of a shift in power in the region — one that has seen Tokyo go from overlooked outlier to arguably Asia’s most attractive destination
IT employees need to relook job contracts to safeguard their interests
The dice seems loaded against IT sector employees, layoffs, non-competes, no-poach restrictions, campus offers that are put on hold and more. The least they can do is to know what they are getting into
For Aatmanirbhar Bharat, more Indian carriers must fly to USA
Air India remains the only Indian carrier currently operating flights to destinations in the US. There is no reason why promoters of Indian carriers currently in operation can’t fly long haul to meet national aspirations. How long should India be dependent on foreign airlines?
Why are ITC’s shareholders taking fright when BAT is selling only 4 percent stake?
The sharp fall in ITC’s shares indicates a nervousness that is not fully explained by the 4 percent stake sale news, which was already known to the market
The 1.5-degree breach is a serious warning on the climate front
Halting or reversing the temperature rise through massive emission reduction appears to be a mirage that the global community is chasing with little success. Therefore, countries prone to extreme weather events need to take proactive action to adapt and minimise their impacts. This can be achieved through constant monitoring and evidence-based policy actions
Chart of the Day: A sentiment check shows households, firms hold on to hope
Consumer sentiment is lower than what was in 2019, but has improved in recent months while firms have grown more optimistic under the current government
Commotion in China; what does this mean for Indian stock markets?
China’s efforts to boost its economic growth has been piecemeal and unstructured and its continued troubles have made India an appealing alternative for investors. But Indian markets too have some risks
Rising utilisation levels point to a good summer for thermal power producers
Utilisation levels in January 2024 surpassed 2023 highs indicating demand uptick
GoI’s Rs 10,000 crore plan for a ‘sovereign AI’ computing infrastructure needs a rethink
The aim of harnessing the benefits of AI will be better served in areas that are not typically addressed by the private sector. From procuring GPUs to managing computing infrastructure, government may not be able to match the market's agility. Alternatively, government can promote competition, regulate anti-competitive practices, fund research, and help in creating India-specific datasets
General elections spark market timing mood
Elections are a big macro event, but despite upsets and wins over the years, history tells us that the risk of such an event for the market smoothens out over time
Opinion | White Paper: What the govt did and didn't say on 5 key economic parameters
Days after presenting the interim Budget and ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 8 tabled the government's white paper on the Indian economy, chronicling what it calls the "insurmountable challenges" left behind by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
MC Explainer: Are ITC investors overreacting to the BAT stake sale news?
ITC’s shares have fallen sharply, by around 4 percent at closing, as news broke that a major shareholder BAT plans to sell part of its stake in the company. What are the issues at stake?
Inflation posing the 'last mile' challenge
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) noted that domestic economic activity is holding up well while large and repetitive food price shocks are interrupting the pace of disinflation. Overall, India appears well placed in terms of macrofinancial stability
Ditch the ‘Rules-Based International Order’
Washington all too often invokes the RBIO only against foes, such as Russia, while exempting itself and its friends, notably Israel. The world is skeptical about this American shtick of RBIO, especially in Africa, Asia and South America, where countries are feeling — and often resisting — pressure by Washington to align with the West against Russia and China
Layoffs: Is AI coming for white-collar jobs? Coders and analysts should worry
Studies are finding AI tools improving productivity significantly for coders, analysists and customer support agents. IMF last month warned that jobs in advanced economies were especially exposed to AI and the risk of reduced labour demand, lower wages and reduced hiring. Some jobs might simply disappear
